Tails up and
eyes sharp,
meerkats run for
cover when they can
and dash into battle
when they must.
Fighting as a single
bristling, hissing
mob, meerkats can
scare off a preda
tor as formidable
as a 25-pound
black-backed jackal.
They're naturally
cautious, but over
time meerkats accept
our team as a harm
less feature of the
landscape. Lured by
boiled-egg treats,
they'll even climb
onto electronic scales
to be weighed. One
eager volunteer was
about to crowd an
already occupied tray
when field-worker
Adin Ross-Gillespie
scooped him up by
the tail (far right).
Meerkats are master
excavators, with all
four paws tipped by
sturdy, rakelike
claws. Foraging for
five to eight hours
every day, they
frequently dig them
selves entirely out
of sight in pursuit
of potential meals.
Favorite prey include
beetles, scorpions,
insect larvae, and
small reptiles.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SEPTEMBER 2002